Rock Gaming changes course on Cleveland casino by asking for an overhead walkway and demolition of the Columbia Building

CLEVELAND, Ohio Instead of a royal flush, it feels like a royal switcheroo.

Rock Gaming LLC, the developer of the new Cleveland casino, unveiled plans in February showing that it intended to do a
gentle and respectful job
of turning the historic downtown Higbee Building, once a legendary department store, into its Phase I casino.

Now, just a few months later, the company has changed course in significant ways.

In order to speed the flow of gamblers to slot machines and gaming tables, Rock Gaming wants to connect the Higbee Building to a new parking garage and valet staging area on the opposite side of Ontario Street with a 170-foot-long overhead walkway.

The glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge would slice diagonally over the major downtown intersection of Ontario Street and Prospect Avenue, partially obstructing views to and from Public Square, the New England-style civic commons in the heart of downtown.

The company released the
first images of its proposals
last week and Thursday, respectively, at meetings of the Cleveland Landmarks Commission and the Design Review Committee.

The negative impacts of the changes proposed by Rock Gaming are hard to quantify, but theyre the kind of actions that can erode a citys visual integrity and sense of place, even its identity.

Gamblers no doubt will applaud the walkway and may view the Columbia Building demolition as an unfortunate but necessary step needed to provide the close-in parking they expect.

The gaming customer is not comfortable parking outside a certain radius without climate control and security, said
Nate Forbes
, a Rock Gaming principal. We need proprietary control.

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Rock Gaming and KA Architects
The master plan: Rock Gaming's vision for its neighborhood includes lots of parking, and an overhead walkway to the Higbee Building.

Nevertheless, its unsettling to contemplate a beautiful building disfigured by having a walkway stuck in its facade. Its something like poking a straw in Mona Lisas nose.

No matter how glassy and transparent it is, the walkway will block views, including vistas of Tower City Center, the vast office, retail and hotel complex built on the southwest flank of Public Square between 1924 and 1930.

Demolishing the Columbia Building will mean losing a handsome, century-old structure that until recently housed Dyke College, the business school later known as Myers University and then Chancellor University.

Unfortunately, theres little chance that the city will stand in Rock Gamings way or push for better alternatives.

Rock Gaming estimates that the casino in the Higbee Building will attract a whopping 5 million visitors a year, or roughly 13,700 a day on average, 365 days a year.

The companys lenders need to know the company has at least 1,300 dedicated parking spaces nearby, Forbes said. To meet the parking requirement, the company plans to buy the 960-space, city-owned Gateway North Garage, which is attached with an overhead walkway to The Q, the home of the Cavaliers, another property of Rock Gaming chief
Dan Gilbert
.

The Gateway garage would then be attached to the new, 342-space garage built in part on the footprint of the Columbia Building.

Notwithstanding the temporary hold on the casino renovation, imposed by Rock Gaming over a dispute with Gov. John Kasich
on taxes the casino should pay
, the company wants to meet a self-imposed deadline of June 15 to start construction on the garage and welcome center.

Otherwise, the company says it wont be able to open the $350 million Caesars Horseshoe casino in the Higbee Building as planned in 2012, with the nearby parking needed to make it a success.

Tunneling under Ontario Street to connect the new parking to the Higbee Building underground isnt structurally possible, Forbes said.

The city of Cleveland, eager for the traffic, the taxes and the economic activity the casino is expected to bring, appears ready to give Rock Gaming the permits it needs.
Chris Warren
, the citys director of regional development, told my colleague, reporter Dave Davis, that Mayor Frank Jackson favors the proposals.

The Landmarks Commission tabled a decision on the Columbia Building demolition until Thursday May 26. The Planning Commission will take up Rock Gamings overall plan today.

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Rock Gaming and KA Architects
A closeup view of the plan for the new Rock Gaming welcome center. The proposal includes a cobbled walkway across the four lane driveway entering the welcome center to enable pedestrians to safely cross the rather large driveway.

The citys Design Review Committee, which advises the Planning Commission, set a positive tone for the discussion by voting unanimously on Thursday to recommend preliminary schematic approval for Rock Gamings plans.

The walkway proposal also needs to be reviewed by the
Ohio Historic Preservation Office
in Columbus if Forest City Enterprises, Rock Gamings landlord in the Higbee Building, is to retain federal historic tax credits granted to the structure.

Its possible that the collateral damage caused by Rock Gamings latest moves could be outweighed by the economic benefits of having a casino downtown.

The welcome center could breathe life into the moribund area along Prospect Avenue east of Tower City. On the other hand, if the city and Rock Gaming arent careful, the area could end up dominated by parking.

Its unfortunate in this context that Rock Gaming didnt work harder with potential partners such as the Historic Gateway Neighborhood, a community-development corporation, to come up with a plan for parking that didnt require sacrificing a landmark building.

Its also discouraging to see another overhead walkway in Cleveland. The city generally discourages such connectors, on the well-founded theory that they kill street-level retail and reduce pedestrian activity.

Whats most important now, however, is what happens next in Clevelands evolving relationship with Dan Gilbert and Rock Gaming.

The company could ameliorate the negative aspects of its latest actions by supporting the
nascent civic effort
to make Public Square more beautiful and inviting.

When it builds its Phase II casino along the Cuyahoga River behind Tower City Center, Rock Gaming could also incorporate some of the
excellent design concepts
suggested by the
Cleveland Coalition
, a civic group that coordinated public meetings on the topic over the past year.

The coalition called for extensive terraces and outdoor promenades to connect the casino and the riverfront.

There should be plenty of time to design something great on the riverfront. Forbes said Wednesday that the second phase of the casino wouldnt be built until 2015 at the earliest - two years later than Rock Gaming has said until now.

If Rock Gaming aims higher on design in the future, it wouldn't make up entirely for losing the Columbia Building or having to stand in the shadow of a walkway at the Higbee Building. But it would certainly ease the sting.